16. Zack
Zack
A ll I can see is Chloe’s terrified face as she’s pulled off the road.
I tear myself from the car, but as soon as I’m out, I’m grabbed by the collar of my jacket and tossed onto the asphalt. My chin scrapes along the ground. Burning pain sears my skin as it’s torn up. But I don’t give a shit about the pain. I’ll take it all to save her.
I try to get to my feet, but a swift kick to the ribs has me winded. Rolling onto my back, I manage to get my knife out in time to slash at my attacker’s ankle. He’s wearing thick boots, so I don’t manage to cut him, but he’s cowardly enough to back off anyway.
Springing to my feet, I wipe the blood from my chin with the back of my hand. With my knife pointed at Jonah, one of the asshole bikers from the bar, I look across the road for Chloe.
Travis has her pinned on her back and he sneers down at her, saying something too quietly for me to hear.
Whatever it is has got her looking scared. More scared than I’ve seen her all night .
He’ll lose his tongue for that.
Even when I forced her to be prey for other men, she didn’t tremble. And covered in blood, she became something else entirely.
“She still owes us what was promised,” Jonah says, nervously. Travis has most likely dragged him into this. Which means he’s weak.
I take a swing at him, and he grabs my wrist, twisting it back. Before I drop the knife, I punch him in the gut, making him loosen his grip enough for me to slip free and stab him in the chest. I don’t have time to see if it was a killing blow.
Pulling the blade out, I rush to Chloe. I can’t move fast enough. Each step feels like she’s moving further away from me.
“Chloe!”
Hollow eyes find mine.
She’s given up.
No, no, no. This isn’t how it’s supposed to end.
“Chloe!” I roar her name and push forward. As I get closer, I notice the gun pressed to her temple.
She gives me a soft smile like she knows this is it for her.
I was stupid to keep pushing her away, but I thought hurting her now would be better than ripping her heart out and tearing it to shreds like mine will be come morning’s light.
I want her—no, I need her to live.
That obsession I thought I had for her? Turns out it’s far more than that.
“Don’t you dare give up!” I shout, and Travis looks up. “Do as I say and fight back! You live for me now!”
That stokes the embers inside her and brings her glow back .
I’m so close. A few more steps, then I’ll feel the warm spray of blood as I gut the fucker that dares to try and break her.
“We saw what you did to Jackson’s place,” Travis gloats. “You’re going to make sure we keep our mouths shut. Your girl here is going to keep us sweet while you give us everything you have, including the car.”
He’s so smug, he thinks I’ll stop because of the gun. I should. I’m risking Chloe’s life by getting too close. But I can’t do nothing. Not anymore.
Chloe lets out a guttural scream that rattles my bones.
“No!” I stumble as I see her reach for his arm. She catches him unawares and manages to push the gun toward his chest. By the time he looks down, she’s already making him pull the trigger.
He rolls off her with a groan, and presses on his wound. Using the opening, I grab Chloe and pull her to me where she belongs.
She buries herself under my jacket. Her cold face presses against my bare chest, and her arms wrap around my back. I can’t move as I struggle to process what I’m feeling.
“Zack.” She whispers my name like I can’t be real.
“You did it.” It’s all I can say as I watch Travis die. She just killed a man. It’s something I didn’t know I needed to see.
It makes what I need to do hurt even more. I thought I was content with my plan, but now she’s here I’m not sure what’s right anymore.
I focus on the present. On her. “Are you hurt? Did he touch you?” I’m frantic with worry. My mind buzzing with fear .
“I’m fine.” She cups my cheek and presses her thumb to my lips. I kiss it and let my eyes drift closed so I can feel the warmth of her against me. Feel the life running through her veins.
Light. She’s pure light, warding off the darkness I’ve engulfed myself in.
“Look out!” Chloe grabs the knife from my limp hand and detaches herself from me so she can lunge at Jonah who’s lumbering toward us with one blood-soaked hand pressed to his chest.
“You killed him!” he shouts.
He’s slow enough for Chloe to weave under his outstretched arm and stab him in the ribs.
Finally, I come to my senses. The need to protect her takes over. Stalking over to them, I take the knife from Chloe and plunge it into Jonah again. Aiming for the heart this time.
He drops like the sack of shit he is.
“Zack?” Chloe says hesitantly. She still looks scared. I step toward her and grab her face with my bloodied fingers.
“Are you okay, darlin’?”
She nods and whimpers.
“What did Travis say to you?”
“That if I didn’t struggle, he’d let you live.” A single tear escapes her, and she quickly blinks the rest away.
I got what I wanted. I’ve broken her enough to cry for me. What’s left of my heart splits in two.
Keeping my hands firmly on her cheeks, I make sure she stays focused on me.
“Chloe, you listen to me, if anyone ever tries to hurt you then you fucking. Fight. Back.” Wrath clips each of my words as I force them at her. I’m seething. My chest tight. My heart about to burst as it struggles to keep up with the fury coursing through my veins.
“Never put another life before yours. Ever. Not even mine. Tell me you understand.”
She nods the tiniest amount she can in my grasp. But I need to hear it. I need those words to be echoing through the hollow of my bones when the flesh has long since decayed from my body.
“Say the words, Chloe. Tell me you’ll put yourself first for the rest of your life. That you’ll kill if you have to. That you’ll do whatever it takes to stay alive, and you’ll still keep your head held high, no matter what.”
“I-I will.”
A heavy sigh of relief rattles from my chest. Letting her go, I step back and wipe my brow. My hands are shaking. From the adrenaline? The pills? Her?
I look around at the destruction and put that wall back up inside me once more. I’m not sure how long it will last this time. It’s cracked, and I can see her light shining through. I want to accept it so badly, but years of pain don’t just vanish in one night. No matter how hard I wish they would.
“We need to get back on the road as soon as possible,” I say, getting my head back on straight.
“To run from the cops?” There’s suspicion in her voice.
Chances are we won’t run into them this end of the road. The nearest station is in the opposite direction to where we’re heading, and they won’t search the road for anyone tonight. They’ll deal with the fires first, and ask questions later.
We’ll be long gone by then.
I don’t want to ice her out, but it’s the only way I can get through this without completely breaking down .
My throat burns from holding back tears. I almost lost her, because she was willing to sacrifice herself for me.
She can’t die before me. I refuse to accept a world where she’s not living in it.
All I want to do is hold her, so I give myself that and cage her securely to my chest. She has my heart now. When I’m gone, she’ll carry it with her and live the full life she deserves.
Eventually, I manage to come to terms with letting her go.
“We need to hide the bodies.”
I head to Travis first and lower his jaw.
“What are you doing?” Chloe asks over my shoulder. It takes a few harsh tugs and hacks of my knife, but I manage to sever the man’s tongue and hold it up to her.
“He threatened you with this tongue. Made you willing to die for me. It’s only right it’s yours.”
Her eyes widen, and I worry she’ll throw up, but her shock turns into joy, and she bursts into elated laughter.
“Thank you! No one’s ever gifted me a tongue before.” She plucks it from my fingers only to toss it away into the bushes. “I much prefer yours though.” She kisses me, sucking my tongue into her mouth and biting down.
I’m instantly hard for her. Before my cock can start getting its own ideas, I compose myself so we can sort this mess out.
“Little sinner, I promise that before the night is over, you’ll get to experience everything this tongue can do, but first we need to clean this mess up.”
We drag both bodies a few feet into the woods out of sight, and I move both bikes off the road. If anyone does happen to spot them, then it’ll at least buy us some extra time .
Looking my car over, I find it’s only got one blown-out tire since I managed to stop it before we crashed into anything.
I get out the spare from the trunk to change it.
“I think we should get off the road for a bit. Find a place to lay low and talk about what we should do next.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I reply bluntly. “Everything’s already planned.”
“But I don’t know what the plan is.”
“And you don’t need to. It’s up to you if you’re sticking around for the ride or not.” Why I’m choosing to stab myself in the heart is beyond me. Perhaps there is some good in me after all?
I can feel her pain without needing to look at her face. I’m a dick for pushing her away, but I’d be a monster if I forced her to stay.
She shoves me on the shoulder, almost toppling me over. I stand up and tower over her, glaring into her gorgeous golden eyes. My anger doesn’t hold the same weight as it did before. In fact, it’s non-existent now. Replaced by a frustration that’s directed at myself.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Chloe refuses to back down.
“You can’t push me away that easily. We’re equal now.” She gestures to the woods where the bodies are hidden behind us. “Or do I have a higher body count than you? Was the man at the gas station your first?”
I nod.
“Well, I’m counting these two as mine since I totally would have had the other guy if you hadn’t stabbed him first. So that makes it three to two.” She looks so fucking smug about that. Oh, my little sinner, how perfect you are .
“If you want to call it quits here, I’ll take your secrets to my grave,” I promise her, giving her one more out. The final one before she’s subjected to the life of pain I’ll give her. Once she chooses me, I’ll be inside of her, tormenting her through this life and whatever comes next.
She rolls her eyes at me. “How can you not see it?”
“See what?”
“I care about you, and you care about me. You just saved my life.”
“You did that all by yourself.”
Letting out a frustrated scream, she shakes her head and runs her fingers through her hair.
“Chloe,” I say softly as I stroke her cheek. She leans into my touch. It feels natural, like we’ve known each other our whole lives not a mere few hours. “You’re strong enough to survive this world by yourself.”
“Well, maybe I don’t want to be by myself anymore. You can’t show me everything I’ve been missing and then rip it away from me.”
But that’s exactly why she needs to leave.
Ripping the Band-Aid off now will be so much easier for her.
“Chloe, darlin’, you deserve a good life. I can’t give you that.”
“I don’t care what you think I deserve. I’ve spent years living for others. From now on, I’m choosing what I want, and that is you.” She jabs me in the chest with one pointed finger.
“This is just trauma bonding. You thought I was going to kill you, so your brain forced this connection. You don’t really—” Abruptly silencing me, she turns away and walks around the car. With her fiery eyes on mine, she gets in and slams the door shut. I lean my arms against the roof and sigh.
She’s chosen me. I should be happy, but all I can do is question what I’ve done.
I can only hope she really is strong enough to face everything that comes next.